Red Roulette An Insiders Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Todays China by Desmond Shum (z-lib.org)

Chapter Seven

J.P. Morgan paid Fullmark $1.8 million: David Barboza, Jessica Silver-
Greenberg, and Ben Protess, “JPMorgan’s Fruitful Ties to a Member of
China’s Elite,” New York Times, November 13, 2013,
https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/a-banks-fruitful-ties-to-a-
member-of-chinas-elite/.

“disgusted with his family’s activities”: Consulate Shanghai, “Carlyle Group
Representative on Leadership Issues.” Wikileaks Cable:
07SHANGHAI622_a. Dated September 20, 2007.
https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07SHANGHAI622_a.html.

“constrained by the prominence of his position”: Consulate Shanghai, “Carlyle
Group Representative on Leadership Issues.” Wikileaks Cable:
07SHANGHAI622_a. Dated September 20, 2007.

Rumors swirled that much of Xu’s wealth was ill-gotten: Michael Forsythe,
“Chinese Businessman Linked to Corruption Scandals Dies in Prison,
Reports Say,” New York Times, December 6, 2015,
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/world/asia/china-xu-ming-dies-
prison.html.

Huang landed another $3 million from Deutsche Bank: Michael Forsythe,
David Enrich, and Alexandra Stevenson, “Inside a Brazen Scheme to Woo
China: Gifts, Golf and a $4,254 Wine,” New York Times, October 14,
2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/business/deutsche-bank-
china.html.

Chapter Eight

contract to provide a kind of mineral water, called Tibet 5100: Cao Guoxing,
“Everest 5100: The Political and Business Alliance Behind a Bottle of
Mineral Water.” Radio France Internationale, July 7, 2011.

Chapter Ten

Li Peiying was all in. He used his muscle and charisma: “Beijing Capital
International Airport Air Cargo Clearance Base Lays Foundation,” PRC
Central Government O cial Website, June 29, 2006,
http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2006-06/29/content_323047.htm.

Chapter Twelve

A painter, Deng Lin had made a small fortune: Patrick E. Tyler, “China’s First
Family Comes Under Growing Scrutiny,” New York Times, June 2, 1995,
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/world/china-s- rst-family-comes-
under-growing-scrutiny.html.

Chapter Fourteen

His purported corruption was also the stuff of legend: Bill Savadove, “Jia Qinglin:
Tainted survivor with a powerful patron,” South China Morning Post,
October 23, 2007, https://www.scmp.com/article/612592/jia-qinglin-
tainted-survivor-powerful-patron.

That was a license to print money: Sean O’Kane, “EV startup Canoo’s
mysterious backers named in new harassment lawsuit,” The Verge, October
8, 2019,
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/8/20899436/discrimination-lawsuit-
canoo-foreign-backers-ev-startup-british-chinese-government.

identified in the Panama Papers as the sole shareholder: Juliette Garside and
David Pegg, “Panama Papers reveal o shore secrets of China’s red nobility,”
Guardian, April 6, 2016,
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/06/panama-papers-reveal-
o shore-secrets-china-red-nobility-big-business.

cables also linked Yu to a questionable loan: Consulate Shanghai “Pension
Scandal Claims More, Politics as Usual.” Wikileaks Cable
06SHANGHAI16957_a. Dated Oct. 27, 2006,
https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06SHANGHAI6957_a.html.

Chapter Sixteen

the Wen family was worth close to $3 billion: David Barboza, “Billions in
Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader,” New York Times, October
25, 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/business/global/family-
of-wen-jiabao-holds-a-hidden-fortune-in-china.html.

the fortune held by relatives of… Xi Jinping: “Xi Jinping Millionaire Relations
Reveal Fortunes of Elite,” Bloomberg News, June 29, 2012,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-29/xi-jinping-
millionaire-relations-reveal-fortunes-of-elite.

sons and daughters of senior Party members were given good positions: Yuan
Huai, “Chen Yun Appointed Me to Work under Li Rui of the Central
Organization Department,” Mirror History Channel, November 10, 2020
https://www.mingjingnews.com/article/48411-20.

Chapter Seventeen

I addressed the Aspen Institute: “Leadership in Action Series: David
Rubenstein; The China Model; Madeleine Albright,” The Aspen Institute,
July 31, 2013, https://archive.org/details/Leadership_in_Action_Series_-
_David_Rubenstein_The_China_Model_Madeleine_Albright.

Chapter Eighteen

He was the grandson of Gu Mu: Wu Ying, “A man, his horse, His mallet, his

life,” China Daily, October 26, 2011,

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-

10/26/content_13976808.htm.

the crème de la crème of Communist Chinese royalty: John O’Sullivan, “China:

Wealthy elite revives the spirit of the emperors,” Financial Times, May 26,

2012, https://www.ft.com/content/f6ace4c8-9da1-11e1-9a9e-

00144feabdc0.

INDEX

A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print
edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning
of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your
reading system’s search function.

Airport Cities World Conference, 193–94
Airport City Logistics Park, 129–36, 144, 169

approvals, permissions, and wooing o cials, 131–36, 139–41, 148–49, 179, 181
“a hat” and the Five-Year Plans, 133
Li Peiying and, 142–43, 181, 192, 197–98, 268
Li Ping and, 143, 145
Party committee at, 196
Shum and Whitney personal investment in, 141, 145, 197–99
Zhang and family and, 131–32, 134
Zhou Liang helping with, 179
Alibaba, 56, 195, 209
Arab Spring, 196
Art of the Deal, The (Trump), 35
Art of War (Sun Tzu), 176
AsiaInfo, 49–53, 76
Asian Financial Crisis (2007), 248
Aspen Institute, 180, 181, 231, 251

Barboza, David, 235–36, 244, 280
Beijing, 70, 108–9

artists and elites in, 163
Beijing Hotel, 64, 135, 172
CCP o cials’ homes in, 96
CCP owned property, 94
Chaoyang District, 224
ChinaVest’s o ce in, 58–59
China World Hotel, 246
CPPCC chapter in, 187
CCP headquarters, Zhongnanhai, 173, 210, 261
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, 47–48

ve-star hotels in, 228
Four Seasons residence, 249, 267
Friendship Store building, 210
Genesis Beijing project, 1, 223–32
Grand Hyatt hotel, 66, 79, 81, 180
Half Moon Café, 59
Hard Rock Cafe, 59
Huadu Hotel, 224, 225
Jia Qinglin as mayor, 206, 207
Kempinski Hotel, 61
Legation Quarter, 96
Lei Garden restaurant, 109
Moutai Club, 207–8, 209, 264
Oriental Plaza, Shum and Whitney’s apartment in, 113, 159
Oriental Plaza, Zhang and Whitney’s o ces in, 64, 76, 94, 99, 268
Palm Springs apartments, 159
prosecution of mayor Chen, 56–57
real estate prices in, 225
Shum as ChinaVest rep in, 47–48, 54, 55, 57–61
Shunyi District, 121, 122–25, 129, 130, 138, 145, 175, 192
Shunyi’s CCP o cials, 121, 122–25, 127, 128, 131, 143, 145, 148–49, 151, 159, 174, 193, 199, 207 (see

also Li Ping; Sun Zhengcai)
unexplained disappearances in, 2
Wangfu Hotel, 75
Wen Jiabao’s home in, 94, 96–97
Yue Ting restaurant, 79, 109
Beijing Capital International Airport, 1, 122, 124–28
Airport City Logistics Park, 125, 129–36, 159–60
Group, 223, 224
Beijing Diamond Jewelries Co., 89, 90
Beijing Tourism Group, 223, 224
Biggs, Barton, 45
Bo Xilai, 97, 239, 240, 241, 263
death of Neil Heywood and, 241–42
purge and jailing of, 241–43, 259
Bo Yibo, 97, 240, 241
“Brie ng on the Current Situation in the Ideological Realm” (CCP), 253
Bulgari, 228
Shum hotel project and, 228–29, 232, 238–39, 251
Bureau Chief Gang (Chuzhang Bang), 136
Bush, George H. W., 42, 93

Carlyle Group, 93
Carnegie, Dale, 63
Chen Liangyu, 202

Chen Shui-bian, 170
Chen Tonghai, 197
Chen Weida, 197
Chen Xi, 183–87, 252, 253, 259
Chen Xitong, 56–57
Chen Yun, 239–40
Chen Zuo’er, 247
Chiang Kai-shek, 6, 46, 240
China

airport construction boom, 137
average height for men in, 27
capitalism and entrepreneurship in, 50, 169–70, 171, 180, 182, 189, 192, 194, 196, 197, 201, 282, 283
CCP control of all non-Communist elements in society, 205, 208
censorship in, 237
charities in, 182
Christianity in, 71, 182
“common good” fantasy of, 282–83
concept of “face,” 28, 109–10, 212
constitution of, 2
consumption boom, 2000s, 161
consumer goods in, 57
crackdown on Western ideas, 195–97
“Crazy rich Asians” in, 161
democracy and, 86–87, 94, 169–70, 189, 194, 283
Deng and reforms, 18, 45, 55, 170, 216, 251, 283
doing business in, 46, 47, 112–13, 194 (see also Shum, Desmond)
economic growth, 45, 51, 55–57, 113, 124, 171–72
economic system of state control, 132, 141
emigration from, mid-1990s, 59–60
exporting its system overseas, 282
extralegal kidnappings in, 2, 254–55, 280, 281

nancial crisis of 2008 and, 195
rst generation of wealthy, 218
rst private research institute, 182
ve “black categories,” 5, 11, 170
foreign relations and, 189, 194, 254
Gang of Four, 18, 52
Great Leap Forward, 273
guanxi (connections), importance of, 46, 74, 120, 121, 139, 149–50, 155, 164–65, 181, 204, 217, 247,
271
Gu Mu and economic reforms, 272
Heineken beer and Marlboro cigarettes, sales of, 46
hotels, popularity of, 228
inde nite detention (shuanggui), 281
in uence peddling and, 164

intellectual property theft in, 62
Internet and broadband in, 49, 51
islands in South China Sea and, 197
jewelry start-ups in, 89
Jiang’s policy on capitalists, 170
laws as ambiguous, 150, 258
Leninist system of total societal control, 281–82
Li Peng and economic slowdown, 45
medical system, 153–56
military-industrial complex, 185
mobile phones in, 60
modernization of, 77, 169–70, 188
moral vacuum in, 158
motorcycle production, 48
the “New China,” 3, 6, 49, 180
nouveau riche in, 158, 161
one-child policy, 154
Overseas Chinese A airs, 19–20
parenting philosophy in, 15
as patriarchal society, 3, 64, 103, 173, 246
“patriotic overseas Chinese” as source for foreign currency, 9
politics as the key to riches, 215
pollution in, 188
privatization in, 174
pro-democracy protests in 1989, 272
real estate business, 56, 123–24, 216
relatives overseas, as stigma, 5
secrecy and fear in, 120
shock-and-awe hospitality of, 48
southern clans, diaspora of, 8
Special Economic Zones, 201
sports bureaucracy, 16
state-owned banks, 224
state-owned businesses, 126–27, 142, 171–72, 174, 192, 195, 199, 223
state-run work unit system, 56
state-subsidies of exports, 134
status symbols, 60, 114–15
stock markets of, 240
the “system” and, 95, 274, 282
tari revenues, 46, 133
tax system, 197
theory of zhongxue wei ti, xixue wei yong, 77
tuhuangdi or dirt emperor, 128, 193
universities run by the CCP, 183
US-China relations, 32, 182

Western businesses in, pretense of ignorance and, 47
Western private equity investment in, 45, 51, 56, 57, 91, 101
woman’s average age to marry, 69
women and power in, 173
women’s repression in, 71
WTO and, 57, 134
Xi Jinping’s repressive rule, 251–55
See also Chinese Communist Party
China Central Television, 124
China Democratic League, 52
China Duty Free Group, 126–27
China Mineral and Gem Corp., 89
China National Petroleum Corp., 8
China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), 75, 110, 165
China Telecom, 172
ChinaVest, 44–54, 60, 134
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 189
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), 2, 7, 53, 57
ability to drink and, 128
anti-American stance, 197, 237–38
battle against Western ideas, 195–96, 253
Beijing vs. Shanghai clique, 56–57
campaign to centralize power, 2000s, 192–93
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, 3, 179, 233, 239, 261, 263, 264, 281
Central Committee, 84, 176, 241, 243, 259, 261
central control and economic planning, 56
children of members, educated in the US, 90, 212, 274
children of members, as “the princelings,” 91, 259, 271–72
children of members, selling access to parents, 53, 272–74
China’s “system” and, 68, 77, 199–200
code of omertà, 198
con scating property by, 6–7, 12–13, 200, 244
corruption and, 36, 56–57, 74, 75, 116, 193, 198, 205–6, 224, 244, 253, 263, 265, 274
courts as a tool of the Party, 150
crackdown on entrepreneurs, 194–95
cultivating “foreign friends,” 16
cultivating young people, 73–74
disappearances and, 2, 142–43, 151, 191
fabrication of economic growth rate, 262–63
fabrication of evidence, 262
factions of, 97
families of members, enrichment of, 36, 91–92, 105, 105n, 106–8, 122, 205, 239–40, 283
fear of, 3, 259
foreign rms currying favor, 52–53
gaogan (high-ranking o cial), 98, 123, 127, 137, 180

give-no-quarter approach, 270–71
jobs assigned by, 10
junkets to US as study tours, 145–46
laws obligating companies to spy for the state, 195
male o cials, mistresses and, 99
marriage only by permission of, 10
mass criticism sessions in schools, 10–11
Mishu Bang (Assistants Gang), 178–79
moneyed class targeted, 2000s, 191
move toward capitalism aborted, 165
new social contract for prosperity, 55
as “the organization,” 80
Organization Department, 252
ownership of resources by, 6
philosophy of, 270–71
private clubs and, 207
property owned, o cials’ use of, 94
purges after Tiananmen Square protests, 85
reactionary wing, Li Peng and, 45
repression, control by, 70, 197, 282
self-interest of, 283
Shanghai Gang, 202, 264
shifting priorities, 132
Shum’s family stigmatized and persecuted, 5, 6, 7
state-owned businesses and, 172, 197
strengthening its rule using Western nancial techniques, 172
Taitai Bang (Gang of Wives), 106, 178
targeting anyone for prosecution, 56
travel bans by, 219, 277, 279
“Three Represents,” 170
United Front Work Department, 187, 205, 208
universities run by, 183
Western news detailing wealth of high-ranking o cials, 237
Young Cadres Section, 239
See also Wen Jiabao; Xi Jinping; specific Chinese leaders
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), 187–89, 205, 254–59
Chinese proverbs
“If you want to jump,” 63
“When a man attains enlightenment,” 92–93
Chongqing, China, 240, 241–42, 243
CITIC Group, 209
Clinton, Bill and Hillary, 106
Color Revolutions, 196, 258
Communist revolution (1949), 5–6
Criminal Procedure Law, 281

Cultural Revolution, 9, 11, 18, 19, 241
Currency Wars (Song Hongbing), 174

Democracy Is a Good Thing (Yu Keping), 189
Deng Lin, 170–71, 172
Deng Xiaoping, 18, 20, 53, 87, 170, 201, 272

contract awarded to family, 108
daughter of, Deng Lin, 170–71
economic reforms, 18, 55, 197, 216, 251, 283
idea of a collective leadership, 265
“southern journey,” 45, 216
Deutsche Bank, 101
Ding Jian, 49
Ding Yi, 247–49, 268, 269, 271
doudizhu (Fight the Landlord) card game, 212–13
Duan, Whitney (Duan Zong)
Airport City Logistics Park project, 129–36, 169, 179, 193, 196, 197–98
alliances in the New China and, 3
ambition of, 75, 77, 103
appearance, 65
approach to life, 68
as avenue to the Wens and Auntie Zhang, 127, 165–66, 170, 173
Bank of China, other IPOs, and pro ts, 160
banned from leaving China, 277, 279
Beijing real estate deal, 246–47
belief in China’s economy, 276–77
birth of, Shandong Province, 71, 121, 245–46
Canada trip with Shum, 77–78
capitalism in China and, 169–70
cash shortages, 113
in the CCP, 73–74
character and personality, 64–65, 231, 276
China’s “system” and, 77
as Christian, 69, 71, 182, 237
cultivating Ling Jihua, 260
cultivating Mishu Bang, 178–80
cultivating the powerful and, 82–83, 95–96, 121, 173–80, 201, 205–18, 231
as dealmaker with guanxi, 74, 75, 76, 102, 109, 122, 181, 200–201, 204, 232, 238–39, 271
desire to extend her in uence, 163
di culty as unmarried woman, 69–70
disappearance, 1, 2–3, 279, 280, 281
early government jobs, 73–74
education and intelligence of, 66, 73
European junket with David Li and others, 211–18
family and humble roots, 71–73, 76, 162

fear of the Chinese state, 100
fertility doctor in New York, IVF, and son’s birth, 153–56, 180, 224, 231

nancial control of Shum, 135, 161, 204, 268
Genesis Beijing project, 224–32
government sinecure and, 100–101
Great Ocean company, 64, 75–76, 110, 129, 182, 200–201, 224–32, 235–36, 268, 276–77
image or brand of, 215
instructs Shum in Chinese business and politics, 65–67, 68, 160
lavish lifestyle and spending, 75, 109, 113–15, 119–21, 161–64, 211–18, 227, 229, 262
as law-abiding, 213
Li Botan (David Li) and, 205–18
life goals of, 67, 73
life’s motto, 76
love and marriage, pragmatism and, 66–67, 69, 70, 75, 77–78, 102, 232
low pro le of, 100–101
mantra, “If you pulled my corpse,” 74, 100, 280
move to Beijing (1999), 76
New York Times story about Wen family, implicated in, 235, 238
patriotism of, 1, 189
as patron of Zeng Fanzhi, 163–64, 226
philanthropy of, 182–83, 260
Ping An deal and pro ts, 110–12, 116–17, 144–45, 160, 161, 163, 164, 166, 223
PLA real estate company job, 74–75
Shum and wedding of, 119–21, 153
Shum, divorce, and winner-take-all approach, 267–70, 276
Shum’s overseas investments and, 200, 204, 244–45
Shum’s relationship with, 1, 3, 64–70, 76–78, 101–3, 121–23, 135, 204, 231–32, 244–45, 267–68,

276–77, 279–80
Shum’s relationship with, deteriorating, 230–33, 245–49
son, Ariston, 2, 3, 159, 275, 279
son, Ariston, manipulating his birth date, 155–56
Song Zhe and, 179–80, 194–95
status license plate, 114–15, 123, 174
status tied to consumption, appearance, 113–15
Sun Zhengcai and, 121–23, 174–78, 201
Tsinghua PhD program and, 185–86
Wang Qishan and, 172–74, 178–79, 201, 252
wealth of, 1–2, 3, 160, 164
Wen family, providing access to power, 134–35
Wen family, shouldering blame to protect them, 236–37
Wen Jiabao and, 166, 175
writing skills, 73, 163, 166
Xi Jinping and, 201–4
yiqi (code of brotherhood) and, 237
Zhang Beili (Auntie Zhang) and, 79–83, 92, 94–98, 100, 107, 110, 120, 166, 172, 201

Du Pingfa, 140

Evergrande Group, 211

Family Wealth (Hughes), 157
Fan Zhongyan, vii
Feng Bo, 52–53

levering CCP connections, 52–53
marries Deng’s granddaughter, 53
wealth and Rolls-Royce, 53, 92
Western rms and, 52–53
Feng Zhijun, 52
Fidelity Ventures, 50–51
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 91
Foster, Norman, 125
Fujian Province, 205–6
Fuxing Group, 58

Gansu Province, 83, 89
Genesis Beijing project, 1, 223–32, 238–39
Goldman Sachs, 56, 171–72
Gore, Al, 50
Great Ocean company, 64, 75, 110, 129, 200–201, 268, 276–77

Beijing o ce, Oriental Plaza, 64, 76
Chinese name, Tai Hong, 75–76
Genesis Beijing project, 224–32
Kaifeng Foundation and, 182
New York Times story and, 235–36
real estate projects, Tianjin, 75
Great Recession of 2008, 195, 196–97
Guangdong Enterprises, 172
Guangdong Province, 7
Guizhou Province, 208
Gu Kailai, 241–42, 243
Gu Liping, 260, 261–62, 263
Gu Mu, 272
grandson, Liu Shilai, 272, 275
Guo Wengui, 280

Han Zheng, 202–3
Harvard University, 182

Kennedy School, 186
Shum Scholarship, 182
Heineken beer, 46
Heywood, Neil, 241–42, 243
Hong Kong

average height for men in, 27
behavior of the rich in, 188
business careers in, 35
Cantonese language and, 20
CCP and, 247
Central District, 44
Certi cate of Education exam, 29
Chinese eeing to, post-revolution, 6
culture of, 23
Deng’s reforms and, 45
Four Seasons hotel, 119
“functional constituencies,” 255
Independent Commission Against Corruption, 23
Kowloon, 22, 28
Lan Kwai Fong and culture of, 44
Mei Foo Sun Chuen neighborhood, 22
moneyed class of, 257–58
national security law of 2020, 282
Occupy Central Movement, 257
“one country, two systems,” 254
protests, 254–59
protests, Shum’s report to Xi Jinping, 257–58
real estate boom, Shum’s parents and, 10
Shum at Citibank Vickers, 43–44
Shum family emigrates to, 19–21
Shum’s childhood in, 20–30
South China Athletic Club, 29–30
Umbrella Movement, 255, 257
Xi Jinping and kidnappings, 254–55
Xi Jinping curtails democratization, 254–57, 258
Yau Mai Tei neighborhood, 22
Hong Kong Stock Exchange, 44, 45, 117
How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie), 63
Huang Xuhuai, 99–100, 101
Huaxia bank, 101
Hu Chunhua, 176–78, 263
Hughes, Jay, 157
Hu Jintao, 86, 176, 185, 187, 195, 197, 202, 252, 259, 261, 281
Xi Jinping and, 203, 243, 252, 264
Hu Yaobang, 36, 84

Iacocca, Lee, 35

J. P. Morgan (bank), 91
Jiang, Alvin, 209

Jiang Mianheng, 51
Jiang Zemin, 8, 37, 51, 56–57, 58, 84, 91, 122, 175, 187, 203, 251

case of Chen Tonghai and, 197
family of, demanding obedience, 132
family’s businesses and wealth, 126–27, 209
in uence used for his children, 107
Jia Qinglin and, 206
Ling Jihua scandal and, 260
Li Peiying’s testimony and, 197
Shanghai Gang, 202
“Three Represents” and, 170
Xi Jinping and, 264
Jia Qiang, 211–12, 215
Jia Qinglin “Old Man Jia,” 205, 206, 208, 212, 264
Jiang Zemin and, 206, 264
o spring in business, 212
purported corruption of, 205–6
son-in-law David Li, 207, 210, 264
Jin Xing, 59

Kaifeng Foundation, 182, 189
Katz, Paul, 245
Kerry, John, 165
Kissinger, Henry, 181
Kissinger Associates, 180–81
Kohn Pedersen Fox rm, 227, 245
Kong Dan, 209
Kuang Xin “Grandpa Kuang,” 136, 137–39
Kweichou Moutai Company, 208

Lan Hai, 60
Li, David (Li Botan), 205–18, 271

as Jia Qinglin’s son-in-law, 206
leveraging his father-in-law’s connections, 207, 210–11
Moutai Club, 207–8, 209, 264
Moutai liquor and, 208–9
Shum, Whitney, and European junket, 211–18
Shum and wine club venture, 209–10, 211, 218
Whitney’s friendship with, 206
wife, Jia Qiang, 210
Zhaode Investment Co., 207, 210
Li, Jasmine, 211–12
Li Keqiang, 203
Ling Gu, 158–59, 160, 259, 260
false allegations against, 262, 263

suspicious car crash death of, 260
Ling Jihua, 158, 259, 265

purge and jailing of, 261, 263, 264
son’s suspicious death, 260–61
Whitney’s friendship with, 260
wife, Gu Liping, 260–62
Lin Youfang, 206
Li Peiying, 125–28, 125n, 142, 191–93
Airport City Logistics Park and, 129, 141–42, 181
CCP investigation of, 142, 151, 159
disappearance, 142–43, 151, 191, 197–98, 268
execution of, 198
replacement for, 192
Shum and building site sale, 223–24
Li Peng, 45, 85
Li Ping, 123–25, 127–28, 159, 193
Airport City Logistics Park and, 130, 143
as Shunyi’s Party chief, 123–24, 125, 128, 129, 130
Zhang Beili and, 128
Li Rui, 203
Liu Changle, 209
Liu Chunhang, 97–98
Liu Shilai, 272
Li Yousheng, 146–49
Luoyang, China, 48–49

Ma, Jack, 56, 195, 209
Ma, Pony, 195
Mao Zedong, 18, 52, 170, 186, 203, 240, 251, 265, 266, 273, 281
Marlboro cigarettes, 46
meiguo maiban (Chinese rep of a US rm), 62
Meng Jianzhu, 210
Moutai liquor, 57, 128, 138, 150, 208–9

Nan Huai-Chin, 63, 181
Nanjing Polytechnic Institute, 73
National Development and Reform Commission, 132, 137

Five-Year Plan, 132–33, 137
National People’s Congress, 52, 188, 242, 243
Netcom, 51
New York Times

Barboza, David, and Whitney’s disappearance, 280
Barboza story on the Wen family’s wealth, 235–36, 244, 268, 269, 270
Bo Xilai purge story, 243
website blocked in China, 237

Ngan, Alex, 46

Oldham, John, 181–82
Olympics 2008, 124, 125

PalmInfo, 60–63, 181, 231, 268
Paulson, Henry, 171
Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, 214
Peng Liyuan, 201–4, 240–41
People’s Liberation Army (PLA), 68, 201

attack on pro-democracy protests in 1989, 272
businesses of and corruption, 74–75
Tiananmen Square, murder of protesters by, 85
Whitney and, 73, 74–75
Phoenix Satellite Television, 209
Pinault, François, 163–64
Ping An Insurance Co., 110–12, 117, 144, 151
COSCO’s Wei Jiafu and, 165–66
Shum on supervisory board, 116–17
Shum, Whitney, and Zhang purchase and sell shares, 110–12, 116–17, 144–45, 151, 160, 161, 164, 223
Politburo, 107, 176, 178
Bo Xilai scandal and, 242–43
Jia Qinglin on the Standing Committee, 205, 206
power of members, 178
Standing Committee, 185, 202, 241
Prodi, Romano, 189
Prologis, 199, 231

Queen’s College, Hong Kong, 26–30, 44, 257

Ramo, Joshua Cooper, 180–81
“The Beijing Consensus,” 180

“red aristocracy,” 5, 53, 83, 106, 108, 126, 197, 201, 205, 210, 211
children of, 260, 271–75
children of, groomed for political leadership, 240
donation of assets by, 244
quirks of, 211
Shum and members of, 271–75
state-run entities and, 126–27

Red Flag limos, 48, 58
Rizhao, China, 121
Robertson, Sandy, 52–53
Robertson Stephens bank, 52
Rothschild, Alexandre, 157
Rothschild, Eric de, 215

Sandel, Michael, 182
Shandong Province, 159, 162, 186

Sun Zhengcai and, 121–22
Whitney’s roots in, 71, 73–74, 100, 121, 153
Shanghai, 6, 17
CCP boss Jiang Zemin, 37
culture of, 22
Department of Propaganda, 16
economic and real estate boom, 10, 62–63
Huaihai Middle Road, 12
Jing’an Hilton, 213
Jinjiang Hotel, 15–16
Nanjing Road, 36
Party secretary of, 202–3
political demonstrations in, 36–37
Shum’s birth in, 5
Shum’s education in, 15–16
Shum’s father in, 7, 8, 10, 62
Shum’s father’s family home con scated, 6–7, 12–13, 200
Shum’s grandfather as lawyer in, 6
Shum’s mother and, 9
Shum’s mother’s family abroad asked to invest in, 19–20
Shum’s parents meet and marry, 8
Shum’s swim team practice, 15–16
Shum visits in 1989, 35–36
Shanghai Stock Exchange, 89, 90, 144–45, 240
Shenzhen, China, 19, 216
Shenzhen Stock Exchange, 240
Shum, Desmond
ambitions of, 67, 77, 180, 182
America and, 34, 35–36, 42–43
appearance of, 11, 27–28, 34, 67
birth in Shanghai (1968), 5, 11
Britain trip, 189
Canada trip with Whitney, 77–78
character and personality, 5, 17–18, 31, 25, 26–27, 144, 162
childhood and adolescence, humble origins, 6–7, 11–15, 19–25, 27, 31–35, 41–42, 43, 76, 182
childhood friend, Steven, 31, 33, 39
choosing the West, 275, 283
in the CPPCC, 187–89, 205, 254, 255–56
education, 15–16, 24–30
establishes Tsinghua Kaifeng Family Heritage Center, gives parenting advice, 158–59
European trip with David Li, 211–18
evolving view of China, 280–82
family’s Sunday dim sum brunch and business talk, 35, 46

fashion and, 31, 120, 151, 160, 228
rst apartment, Tianhou, 44

formation of his character, 17–18, 25–26, 27, 33, 42, 269
image or brand of, 215
IVF, American clinic, and son’s birth, 153–56
lavish lifestyle, 109–10, 113–14, 160–63, 212–14, 220, 227, 229
as law-abiding, 213
lesson learned: stairs of Xiang Mountain, 269
loss of face and, 28, 230
low pro le kept by, 100–101
maternal grandmother, 9
meditation and, 63–64, 268
moving as a constant, 25–26
parental role model for, 22, 33
parents and, 5–11, 14, 21–22, 28, 30–31, 32, 34, 268–69, 276
patriotism of, 1, 12, 49, 189, 280
philanthropy of, 182–83
at Queen’s College, 26–30, 257
reading by, 11–12, 15, 26, 35
report to Xi Jinping on Hong Kong, 257–58
Rothschild family and, 157, 215–16
self-discovery and personal growth, 63–64, 181, 231, 268–69
Shanghai visit in 1989, 36–37
Shum Scholarship at Harvard, 182
son, Ariston, 2, 156, 159, 275, 279
spiritual side of, 69
studying parenting, 157–58
swim team and Olympics tryout, 16–18, 26–27, 30, 33
taste for ne food and wine, 42, 68, 160–61
Tiananmen Square and, 37–38
at the University of Wisconsin, 36, 39–43
wealth of, 2, 160
wedding of, 119–21, 153
Whitney’s nancial control of, 135, 161, 203
Whitney’s relationship with, 1, 3, 64–70, 75, 76–78, 95, 119, 121–23, 135, 151, 204, 229–33, 267–68,

276–77, 279–80
Whitney’s relationship with, deterioration, divorce, and nancial ght, 230–33, 245–49, 267–70
wine club venture, 209–10, 211, 218
Zhang Beili (Auntie Zhang) and Wen in uence, 79–82, 101–2, 166
Shum, Desmond: business career
Airport City Logistics Park and, 129–36, 159–60, 169, 179, 193–94, 196, 197–98
Aspen Institute and, 180, 181, 231, 251
Bank of China, other IPOs, and pro ts, 160
Beijing real estate development proposed, 246–47
buying presents for o cials, 177

capitalism in China and, 169–70
cash shortages, 113–14
China’s “system” and, 77, 199–200
at ChinaVest, 44–55, 57–61
at Citibank Vickers, 43–44
Ding Yi loan and court case, 247–49, 268, 269, 271
father’s career success and, 62
Genesis Beijing project, 1, 223–32, 238–39
guanxi (connections) and doing business, 57–58, 122, 139, 149–51, 200, 244, 247
in uence peddling and, 164
Lan Hai and job o er, 60
learning how the Chinese do business, 46–48
learning to be a boss in China, 144
optimism about China and the West, 251–52
overseas investments, 200, 204, 244–45, 276–77
PalmInfo and, 61–62, 181, 231, 268
partnership with Whitney and Zhang, 108–9, 110, 238–39
Ping An deal, 110–12, 116–17, 144–45, 151, 160, 161, 164, 223
providing access to power (Wen family), 134–35
saving Li Yousheng and new connections, 146–49, 151
Song’s warning, 194–95
Tian’s success as inspirational, 50
Western partners, 244–45
Whitney’s instruction in business and politics, 65–67, 68, 151, 160
Xi Jinping, concerns about, 251–55
Sima Qian, 75–76
Singapore, 91–92
SoftBank, SBI Holdings division, 91
Song Hongbing, 174
Song Zhe, 179–80, 189
becoming a gaogan, 180
warning to Shum, 194–95
State Council, 132
Sun Hung Kai Properties, 246–47
Sunrise duty-free business, 126–27
Sun Tzu, 176
Sun Zhengcai, 121–22, 174–78, 187, 205, 264–65
real estate projects and, 122, 175
Wen sponsors, 175
Whitney and, 174–78, 201
Xi’s purging of, 263, 265
Suzhou, China, 6

Tadao Ando, 227
Tait Asia, 45, 46–47, 75

Taiwan, 170
Temasek fund, 91
Tencent, 195
Theleen, Bob and Jenny, 45, 47, 53–54
Thousand Talents Program, 185
Tian, Edward, 49–51, 76
Tiananmen Square crackdown, 37–38, 45, 50, 85, 216, 240
Tianjin, China, 9, 75
Trump, Donald, 35
Tsinghua University, 182, 185–87

alumni network, 185–86
Chen Xi and Xi Jinping at, 252, 259
Chen Xi as CCP secretary at, 183–87
Kaifeng Family Heritage Center, 158
Shum and Whitney’s generosity to, 182–83, 186–87
Tyson Foods, 32–33, 62

University of Southern California (USC), 33, 39
University of Wisconsin, 36, 39–43

Wang Lijun, 242
Wang Qishan, 171–73, 179, 201

Whitney and, 172–74, 178–79, 201, 252
on Xi Jinping, 252
Wanxiang company, 55–56
Warburg Pincus, 50–51
Wei Jiafu, 110, 165, 166
Wen Jiabao, 81–84, 93, 116, 166, 175
amassing of wealth and, 92–94, 238
assistant Song Zhe, 179–80, 194–95
Beijing home, 94
Bo Xilai allies retaliate against, 244
Britain trip, 189
children of, 90
global nancial crisis and, 195
as “Grandpa Wen,” 86
ignorance of family’s business activities, 106–7, 238
New York Times story about wealth of, 235, 237, 238
Ping An investment deal and, 166
political career, 84–87, 116, 243, 259
as premier, 86–87, 93, 94, 105, 281
speaking of freedom and democracy, 86–87, 94
Tiananmen Square and, 85
wife, Auntie Zhang and, 81, 83–84, 85, 87, 94, 103, 166
Xi Jinping backed by, 243–44

Wen Ruchun (Lily Chang), 90–91, 97–98, 106, 111
marriage to Liu Chunhang, 98
New York Times story and, 238, 239

Wen Yunsong (Winston Wen), 90–92, 220, 239
founds New Horizon Capital, 91, 93
Keystone Academy, 239
New York Times story and, 238, 239
wife and son of, 97

Whampoa Military Academy, 213
World Trade Organization, 57, 134
Wrath of Heaven, The, 57

Xiang (Fragrant) Mountain, 269
Xiao Gazi, 12
Xi Jinping, 183, 185, 201–4, 240–45, 251

anti-corruption campaign, 252–53, 259, 279
Bloomsberg news story about wealth of, 237, 239
Bo Xilai scandal and, 242–43
consolidation of power, 264, 265–66
crackdown on lawyers, others, 253–54
cult of personality and, 266
democracy seen as threatening, 253
elimination of rivals, 259, 262–65
as emperor for life, 265–66
foreign policy and, 254
Hong Kong crackdown, 254–57, 258
kidnapping and, 254–55, 280, 281
maximizing total control, 282
Politburo and, 203, 241
political rise, 202–3, 240, 241, 243
repressive measures by, 251–55
Whitney’s friendship with, 201–4
wife Peng Liyuan, 201, 203, 240–41
Xi Zhongxun, 201, 240
Xu Jiayin, 158, 211, 216–18
Xu Ming, 97
Xu Zhimo, 29

Youth League, 259, 260
Yu Guoxiang, 211, 213, 218
Yu Keping, 189

Zeng Fanzhi, 163
museum for, 226, 227

Zeng Qinghong, 122, 175
Zhang Beili (Auntie Zhang), 79–87, 81n, 217

account of Bo Xilai scandal, 242–44
Airport City Logistics Park and, 129, 131–32
ambition and motivations of, 105–6
background and family, 83
Beijing Diamond Jewelries Company of, 89, 90, 105
Beijing home of, 96–97
business activities kept from her husband, 106–7, 238
business dealing with Whitney and Shum, 107, 247 (see also Airport City Logistics Park; Genesis

Beijing project; Ping An Insurance Co., investment, etc.)
Chen Xi and, 185
children of, 90, 92–93
China’s jewelry industry and, 89–90
cosmetic surgery and, 219
deal with prosecution, 244
as “Diamond Queen,” 89

nancial success of, 92–93, 105
Genesis Beijing project, 225, 238–39
hangers-on and, 220
husband’s political career and, 85, 87, 89, 239
independence of, 105–6, 172
lifestyle, 93, 105
male friend, Huang Xuhuai, 99–100, 101, 172, 220
o ce at Beijing’s Oriental Plaza, 94, 99
personality of, 83
Ping An investment, 110–12, 116–17, 145, 166–67
Ping An stock transfer, 145, 235
roles played by, 100
Shum and, 79–82, 101–2, 166
Sun Zhengcai and, 175, 178
travel with Shum and Whitney, 218–21
wealth of, 167
Wei Jiafu and, 165
as Wen’s wife, 81, 83–84, 85, 87, 92, 93, 103, 105, 172, 178
Whitney ordered to take blame for, 236–37
Whitney’s friendship with, 79–82, 92, 94–98, 100, 120, 166, 172, 175, 201, 238–39
Whitney and Shum’s wedding, 120
Zhaode Investment Company, 207
Friendship Store building, 210
Zhao Ziyang, 84–85, 86
Zhejiang Province, 201
Zhou Liang, 178–79
Zhou Yongkang, 242, 259, 260, 263
Zhuo Yue, 53
Zhu Rongji, 81, 86, 87, 171, 172, 219

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